


Nothing Heals Me Like You Do

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: The Story of Us [21]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 13:38:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2813924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They worked so damn hard for each other.  Erin had no intention of giving up on Mark or her marriage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing Heals Me Like You Do

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I've written in this universe. I was so excited they were back but ended up writing and posting a lot of other fics before this one. The title comes from the Heather Nova song, London Rain. The story takes place immediately after the events in When in Times of Doubt Have You ever Tried to Work it Out.

Mark woke up first. He would never describe himself as a morning person but after decades of waking up and doing what had to be done, it was something he was used to. He had no idea what time it was but could still hear the rain falling outside. There was no hint of light but Mark didn’t know if that was because the day was gray or if it was too early in the morning. The stirring in his arms suddenly made everything else insignificant. 

He looked down at his wife, who was still sound asleep. It had been such a long time since Erin slept in his arms. Mark had a good memory but the couple had been separated long before his tale of indiscretion. She said that they would put it in the vault; Mark could hardly believe the words when he heard them. They had been together nearly a decade and it was only the third thing that had gone in there. 

The vault had strict rules and breaking them could have lasting consequences on their relationship. Was Erin really sure she never wanted to talk about it again? Did she think it could be stored so far away that it would never come up in a disagreement or battle? The couple was far from perfect. Despite how much they loved each other, there had been a barnburner or two in their past. 

Mark asked her twice if she was sure. It wasn’t because he didn’t want her to be but because he did. Even if they never discussed it again he would never forget how close he came to losing his wife and daughters. It was a feeling that would stay with Mark for years to come; he was sure of that.

“Go back to sleep.” Erin murmured.

“How did you know that I was awake?” Mark asked in a low tone as he looked down at her. 

He wasn’t exaggerating when he told people that he was married to the most beautiful woman in the world. It didn’t matter if she was sound asleep, not wearing a stitch of makeup, heavy from pregnancy…none of it made any difference. She was beautiful from the day he met her. That day he believed that, despite his pedigree, Erin Strauss was out of his league. Mark had been wrong about more than a few things in his life. That one he was incredibly pleased about.

“I always know when you're asleep or awake; your breathing changes.”

“I woke up thinking about you. I can't believe I'm holding you in my arms. I thought our marriage was over. I made the biggest mistake of my life and thought I would lose everything that mattered to me. I couldn’t fix any of it. I fix things for a living but I couldn’t fix that.”

“You're a United States Senator, Mark,” Erin opened her eyes. “You don’t fix that much honey.”

“Schatzi made a funny.”

“Oh, um…” Erin stiffened a bit in his arms. 

The truth was that she was never sure if they would ever be here again either. To her surprise, it had nothing to do with pride. To hear that Mark had been unfaithful was shattering. Her mother told her that even the best people could make the worst mistakes. She knew that even good relationships weathered serious storms. 

Erin had judged some women in the past, and men, who had taken back unfaithful spouses. But Mark didn’t have a mistress. He didn’t spend their retirement fund on high end prostitutes or get caught with a barely legal intern. He made a mistake and she wasn’t going to spend the rest of their lives blaming him. So many things out of their control got him to that place. Mark took full responsibility and begged his wife’s forgiveness. 

It was more important to Erin that the couple focused on their future rather than past. They worked so hard for all that they had, and not just the work success and material things. They worked so damn hard for each other. Erin had no intention of giving up on Mark or her marriage. It took some time and plenty of tears to come to her final decision. She knew once it was made, nothing was going to sway her.

“What's the matter?” Mark pulled her closer, afraid that she would move away. She’d changed her mind; decided that she wasn’t going to forgive him after all.

“I need that to go into the vault as well.” she replied.

“What?”

“Schatzi.” It almost hurt Erin to say it but she spit it out.

“I don’t understand, I've called you that since we started dating.”

“I know, and there was a time that I loved it. Lately though it just makes me think about things that I don’t want to think about.”

“OK.” Mark nodded and held her tight. “If you want to put it in the vault then that’s what we’ll do. Am I still allowed to call you my little wiener schnitzel?”

“I'm always going to be your little wiener schnitzel.” Erin tilted her chin and kissed his lips. It was a soft kiss; she sighed when Mark kissed her lips again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I've missed you so much.”

“I'm here, Erin.” Mark turned on his side and caressed his face. “I'm not going anywhere.”

“I’ll never leave you again.” She slid one of her legs between his.

Erin moaned when his body rubbed on hers. She was horny as hell, with this pregnancy more than any other. Her fingers tickled down Mark’s back as their kisses got deeper and more passionate.

“We should go into the bedroom.” He whispered as his lips lingered over hers. “There's a big, comfortable bed in there and we have all the time in the world.”

“I just…I need…” she took his hand and moved it inside of her pajama pants. Erin didn’t need pomp and circumstance; she needed to come.

“O-K.”

“Just make me come, Mark. We can make love later.”

“Do you mind if I…?” Mark kissed her and then began to take off her pajama pants.

“God no.” Erin shook her head as she kicked the pajamas off of her socked feet. 

Her husband was slinking under the blanket. She hissed, inhaling deeply through her teeth, and grabbed the inexpensive sheets when Mark’s mouth touched her skin. Erin could hardly remember the last time they'd been intimate. She was five months pregnant now but figured the encounter that got her that was nothing to brag to her friends about. Mark had an advanced degree in cunnilingus though…he loved putting his face between her thighs. Pleasing each other was second nature to the couple, there was no way that anyone else could ever make her feel like Mark made her feel.

“Oh God,” Erin arched her back and whimpered. She reached down, running her fingers through his brown hair. “Oh God, Mark, Mark, mmm…” It was better to bite her lip; bite her lip so she wouldn’t wake the girls. Hell, Erin probably could’ve woken the entire neighborhood.

Damn, she tasted so good. Mark could only dive in and lap up as much of her salty sweetness as possible. It wasn’t just about satisfying Erin when he went down on her. The way she tasted was like a drug to him. The first time it touched Mark’s tongue he knew that he was a goner. 

The way his name rolled off Erin’s tongue, between whimpers and moans, made his stomach quiver. The way her back arched and her toes curled let him know how good she felt. Even without seeing her face, Mark knew the exact moment that Erin’s climax began. It was an instinct that he gathered early but not immediately in their intimate relationship. Erin didn’t always have an easy time; even when she was eager sometimes her body didn’t react the way she wanted it to. Tonight that wasn’t on either of their minds.

“Oh shit.” Erin attempted to catch her breath. Mark scaled her entire body and covered it in kisses. He took the hem of her night shirt, pulling it over her head. “I don’t think I can walk.”

“I will take that as a compliment.” Mark murmured, grinning as he kissed her neck.

“I think we’re just going to have to do it right here, Mister. My legs are jelly and I'm quite naked.”

“You're so beautiful when you're naked. Mmm, I love you Erin.”

“Then take me right now.” Her voice was tired but still demanding.

When Erin wanted something then Mark gave it to her. He grabbed the pillows he'd been sleeping on. Mark put one vertically under her back and the other horizontally under her ass. His wife was visibly pregnant but there were only a few positions Erin could tolerate after a powerful climax…missionary was one of them. This was her fourth pregnancy so Mark was well acquainted with ways to have sex comfortably as her stomach grew.

“Are you alright?” Mark stroked her belly when he asked. Damn, he couldn’t wait to spend more time with Erin’s stomach. That wasn’t something he needed to think about right now but special time with his children while their mother carried them was very important to him.

“I’ll be better when you're inside me.” Erin grabbed his hips, pulled him closer.

“Hey, hey, stop that.” Mark laughed as he put his palm flat on the mattress beside her. “You're going to make me lose my balance.”

He straightened himself again, sighing as he slowly filled his wife. Mark had to be careful not to come too quickly. Despite his outward appearance of calm and control, on the inside he was like a horny, giddy teenage boy. It seemed like forever since he touched her. Feeling her skin, hot and electric, made him cry out in the dark room.

“Ohhh, Erin,” he steadied himself on his knees as he pumped in and out of her. “Oh God, Erin, ohhh God.”

“I love you.” she took his hand and put it on her breast. When Mark squeezed, she whimpered. Erin loved how sensitive and responsive to touch her body became when she was pregnant. If anyone else touched her she’d want to drop kick them. Her husband couldn’t touch her enough.

“I love you Mark, oh God I love you, don’t stop!”

Mark but his lip as he spread her thighs and thrust deeper. Her belly was still his primary concern, even in his lustful haze. He didn’t want to put any unnecessary weight on her. The metal springs of the piece of shit mattress were digging into his knees but Mark could care less. He was so close, could feel the fireworks in his belly like it was the fourth of July. He was surprised when Erin took his hand to stop him from touching between her thighs.

“I'm good.” She smiled and kissed his palm.

“Are you sure, sugar?”

“Mmm,” Erin lifted her hips to feel him even deeper. They came together a lot when they made love. It was just fine for him to have this one to himself. She’d already had one for the books.

Mark tried to hold back a little longer, hit some of Erin’s sweet spots because he loved her reaction. When the feelings began to overwhelm him, the Senator braced his hands on either side of his wife. Erin held onto his hips as his thrusts became more demanding and a bit erratic. He didn’t want to wake the girls but it was hard to hold it in. Mark wanted, needed, to call out her name. He needed to stroke Erin’s face, moan, groan, and make the sounds of intense pleasure.

“Goddamn.” He collapsed beside her on the pull out couch. This was gonna hurt in the morning.

“We need to do that every night.” Erin said. 

She was slightly breathless as well. She pulled the blankets up to cover her naked body before reaching out to rub the bottom of Mark’s belly. She had always loved the patch of hair there. He loved when she did it after sex. He loved it all the time really.

“I'm not as young as I used to be though I'm not quite ready to hang up my hat.” He turned on his side to look at her.

“Well I’ll have you know that I'm about to hit my sexual prime.”

“This is me not complaining at all, I promise.”

Erin smiled and caressed his face. God, she loved this man so much.

“Are you sure, Erin?” Mark asked.

“About my sexual prime? I read an article in _Self_ magazine and then had a lengthy discussion with my doctor. It’s coming.”

“I didn’t…I meant…are you sure about taking me back?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“I don’t want to lose you; these past few months have been agonizing. I just want you to be sure. That’s important to me.”

“I am.”

“You're really calm.” He said.

“Do you want me to pack up and leave?”

“No, no, no,” he put his arms around her. “I just don’t want you to regret this decision. It’s so important to me that you do the best thing for you. I don’t want to lose you and I'm probably a selfish prick for wanting it all but…I want what we used to have. I want what we can still have.”

“I spent quite a long time thinking about it.” She said. That was the truth. There were many sleepless nights pacing and thinking. There were discussions with her therapist. Erin made phone calls to Alex, her mother, and even Kirk. She wanted to know what everyone thought because sometimes there was so much on her mind that she could hardly think at all. 

The hormones coursing through her veins from pregnancy weren’t a help to the situation. “I actually wanted to hate you, but I love you. You’re not the only one with regrets about your indiscretion or what led to it. We were both falling through darkness, Mark; we hit the ground hard. Now we’re picking ourselves us and shaking the dust off. It’s in the vault…that’s where it belongs.”

“OK.” He nodded.

“We never have to talk about it again.”

“See, but I think we do. I don’t mean my indiscretion directly but we need to talk about what drove us apart. We need to talk about our feelings. We need to talk about Gray.”

“Now?” Erin put some distance between them. It wasn’t much but it was enough for the moment. He was really killing her afterglow.

“No Erin, but soon. We can see a counselor and talk about it in a relaxed, safe space with an objective third party present.”

“You want to go to marriage counseling?” she asked.

“I'm not opposed.” Mark replied. “I never want you or me to be back in such a dark place again. We work out a lot of problems on our own, I think we’re good at it, but this was a big one.”

Erin wasn’t opposed to counseling either. Her regular therapist recommended her to a grief counselor that she had been seeing on and off since Gray died. When it was on, Erin could make it bearable. When it was off, she was spiraling out of control. From the moment she was released from the hospital for the “accidental overdose” she had gone back. 

It was actually through talking with Dr. Howard that she made the final decision to save her marriage. Erin would forgive Mark and they would move on with their lives. But there was still more work ahead. Erin wasn’t going to bring up the indiscretion in any kind of couples therapy. 

It would violate the vault terms and probably make her stomach sick. Mark was right though, what he did was symptomatic to so many other things that happened to them. And they needed to clear out all of the landmines around them and between them. Sex, lovely as it was, rarely solved anything.

“We can talk about it later but counseling could work.” Erin scooted over and rested her cheek on Mark’s chest. She sighed when he stroked her hair.

“I think my priority needs to be finding another term of endearment for you. I've always called you something.”

“Sugar was nice.” Erin said.

“Sugar, huh?” Mark laughed some. “I never thought of that.”

“You just called me that a little while ago.”

“Did I?”

“You were in the throes of passion so I guess you weren’t even paying attention. I liked it though.”

“Then you'll be my sugar.” He kissed her forehead. “You’ll be my sugary little wiener schnitzel.”

“Oh God,” Erin laughed. She loved the way he put on the faux German accent whenever he called Wiener schnitzel. “Don’t do the silly accent.”

“Aww c'mon, the silly accent is my favorite part. I will extract all secrets from you, Agent Wiener Schnitzel, and send you back to the Allies in pieces. Insert sinister Soviet laugh.”

“We should head to the big bed. It’s so early, I don’t think streaking down the hall will cause too much of a ruckus. Because I have to tell you this pull out bed is atrocious.”

“I concur. We’ll get a new one for guests to sleep on.” Mark threw the covers off and walked around to the side of the bed were Erin was laying. “Wanna piggyback ride, Mrs. Cramer?”

“Are you serious? There's a bit of extra weight on me since you last asked that question.”

“I think I can handle it.” Mark reached out his hand and pulled Erin into a sitting position.

The mattress was wobbly but she stood on it with steady feet. Mark stepped back, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hoisted herself onto his back. As soon as her legs were wrapped around him, the naked couple was on the move. For some reason Mark walked on his tiptoes; he really didn’t want to wake the girls. 

But Erin was lighter than he imagined and soon they were in the master bedroom. The covers were pulled back since Erin left the bed earlier in the night. She immediately snuggled under the blankets. Once in bed, Mark had to wrap his arms around her. Erin lay on her back as he lay on his side.

“We just tiptoed through our own house, butt naked.” She laughed, covering her mouth. “I actually thought we were past firsts in our relationship. We absolutely are not.”

“I'm so happy, Erin.” Mark said. “I know we have a long way to go but I'm thrilled.”

“I'm happy too.” She smiled. “There were so many times I wanted to talk to you and I just didn’t. I wanted to cry and scream; I wanted to hit you and I wanted you to hold me and never let go. It was a lot…it’s still a lot.”

He nodded, running his fingers through her hair. The couple fell into a comfortable silence with the rain outside as a relaxing melody. Erin felt when she and Mark started breathing in sync. She caressed his hand as it rested on her belly. They were back; nothing was going to break them apart again. 

There were a fair amount of hurdles to get over but Erin knew they could do it together. She and Mark made a great team. While this might be their biggest challenge, it wouldn’t be their first. They would make it and be a loving couple again. Nora and Mary Kate deserved all the happiness in the world along with their sibling to come. The past needed to be reconciled and put away. The present, this moment, was quite lovely. The future was big, bright, and full of promise for all of them.

***


End file.
